Apparatus for handling pit-scrap.



PATENTBD MAR. 24, 1903.

I'. E. PARKS.

APPARATUS POR HANDLING PIT SCRAP.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 17, 1902.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

.N0 MODEL.

WITNESSES THE mams PETERS co. morumna. wAsmNcTou. u. c.

Aenough to be put in the charging-boxes.

NITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

FRANK E. PARKS, OF DUQUE-SNE, PENNSYLVANIA.

APPARATUS FOR HANDLING PITSCRAP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 723,723, dated March 24, 1903.

Application filed September 17, 1902. Serial No. 123,773. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANK E. PARKS, of Duquesne, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Apparatus for Handling Pit-Scrap, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- .Y

Figure lis a vertical cross-section of an open-hearth furnace arranged in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of themold or box, and Fig. 3 isa cross-section of the same.

My invention relates to the collecting and handlingof the molten metal drippings from open-hearth steel-furnaces, in which furnaces the metal is tapped into the ladle by means of a troughor spout which extends forwardly from the tap-hole, and after the metal is tapped out the spout is removed. Smallamounts of the molten steel remaining in the furnace. drip from the tap-hole into the pit beneath the spout. These drippings ordinarily collect in this pit with the slag, and aft-er an accumulation thereof the mold is lifted out and taken toga' skull-cracker, where it is broken up into fragments small It is then recharged into the open-hearth furnace. This method of handling the pit-scrap is laborious and is the cause of considerable trouble and expense.

My invention consists in a new apparatus for handling these drippings; and it consists, broadly, in the combination, with the furnace and its metal-tapping spout, of an open mold separate from the spout, placed in the pit beneath and at a considerable distance below the metal-spout. This mold is of such a size that the steel collecting in it will form a casting of such size ascan be easily placed in the charging-box without breaking up, and the mold is of such a shape that the casting can be'stripped upwardly from it, thc mold remaining in place. The

mold is not secured permanently in position, but merely rests upon a suitable foundation, preferably with a slag-packing around it, so that in case of any trouble resulting from an accident in casting the box can be picked out and removed by a crane.

Referring to the drawings, in which I show a preferred form of my apparatus, 2 represents a stationary open-hearth furnace, which may be of any ordinary form, and 3 the metal tap-hole therefor.

4 isthe refractory lined removable met-alspout, which leads from the tap-hole outwardly to a point where the metal directed therefrom will fall into the ladle 5. This spout is shown as supported upon a removable bridge 6, extending between the sides of the fore pit, which is between the furnace and the main pit 7, in which the ladle sits. The mold or box 8 to'reeeive the drippings is set beneath the spout and Vin position to receive the drippings from the tap-hole. This mold I have shown as consisting of a single casting with a forming-cavity having upwardly and outwardly diverging sides, Vthe cavity having its longitudinal axis in line with the spout. The box is set upon a suitable foundation, which may be either the dirt ioor of the pit or a support built thereon, and thebox is preferably packed around with loose lump cinder.

In tapping the furnace the metal `I'lows out through the tap-hole and the spout and falls into the ladle in the ordinary manner. When the furnace is practically dry, the spout is removed and the remaining drippings fall from the tap-hole into the box or mold to receive them.V hearth are puddled after the heat, the steel forced out of these holes will also flow out and drip into the box. j

Before the heat is tappedra metal bar or piece of scrap with a hooked end is set in the mold with its end projecting out, so that the drippings will congeal around the shank and embed it, and when the drippings have flowed out after the tapping of one heat the casting is pulled out of the mold by means of the projecting hook. This casting is then put in a charging-box and charged into one of the open-hearth furnaces in the ordinary way. Any slag which falls into the mold with the steel, being lighter than the steel, separates therefrom and is easily removable from the casting.

The advantages of my invention result from the use of a mold which will receive and shape the drippings and which forms a cast- If the holes in the furnace? ing of a proper size for recharging into the furnace. This is a means of great economy, for the steel is so tough that when the drippings collectin large irregular masses on the bottom of the pit, as heretofore, it is extremely difficult to break them up into fragments suitable for recharging; but my in- Vention enables the steel drippings at once to be replaced in the furnace in convenient size and shape for remelting. The placing of the box at a considerable distance beneath the spout is important, as otherwise an overflow of metal in the box would weld it to the bridge and necessitate a new bridge and breaking up of the mass, resulting in extra labor and expense. By placing the box at some distance beneath the' spout if the box overows the surplus metal merely runs into the pit; but the box is of such size that in ordinary practice it will more than contain the amount of drippings from a single heat. The box is not permanently secured, and hence in case of an accident in casting it can be easily removed and a new box supplied.

I claim-'- 1. The combination with an open-hearth furnace, of an open-top mold resting in the pit beneath the metal-spout and in position to receive the metal drippings, said mold being separate from the spout; substantially as described.

2. The combination with an open-hearth furnace, of a movable open-top metal-mold resting below and removed from the spout and in position to receive the drippings, said mold having au upwardly and outwardly diverging mold -cavity; substantially as described.

3. The combination with an open-hearth furnace havinga metal tap-hole, of a removable spout leading outwardly therefrom, and an open-top mold separate from the spout set in the pit beneath the spout and in position to receive the metal drippings; substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I havev hereunto set my hand.

FRANK E. PARKS.

Witnesses:

L. M. REDMAN, H. M. CORWIN. 

